Fourth Reading Town Manager
Listen to this articleReading, MA — The Select Board began its meeting on Tuesday by voting 4-0 to execute an employment agreement with Matt Kraunelis as the new town manager. The agreement, which is in effect until June of 2025, stipulates several goals that Kraunelis will need to accomplish, including leadership on the town side of the Killam School project, leadership in the possible senior/community center project, reapplication for Green Communities designation, and support for the MBTA Communities program, approval, and implementation. The agreement also refers to one of Kraunelis’s goals as the selection of strong employees for Town Manager appointed positions.
Kraunelis will be informed by January 15, 2025, whether or not the board intends to renew the contract.
Kraunelis, who has a Doctor of Law degree, was Reading’s Assistant Town Manager and recently was appointed by the Board as the Interim Town Manager. Before his promotion to Assistant Town Manager, Kraunelis served as the Director of Administrative Services in Reading.
Prior to Reading, Kraunelis worked for the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulations and also held the post of Chief of Staff for the Mayor of Methuen. He was selected as the town manager at the February 17 Select Board meeting.
Kraunelis thanked the board, the community, and his family as he signed the agreement, noting that this was a “big moment” for him. “I have helped to build a strong foundation here in Reading for the last nine years, and I hope to build a bright future here,” Kraunelis stated.
